FILE - This Aug. 13, 2020 photo shows a logo for Netflix on a remote control in Portland, Ore. Netflix’s rapid subscriber growth is slowing far faster than anticipated, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, as people who have been cooped at home during the pandemic are able to get out and do other things again. The video streaming service added 4 million more worldwide subscribers from January through March, its smallest gain during that three-month period in four years. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)
SAN RAMON, Calif. – Netflix’s pandemic-fueled subscriber growth is slowing far faster than anticipated as people who have been cooped at home are able to get out and do other things again.
Updated:
April 21, 2021 12:32 IST
The streamer added four million worldwide subscribers from January through March, its smallest gain during that three-month period in four years
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Netflix is also facing more competition than ever from a wide range of video streaming services from major companies such as Disney, Apple and HBO
The streamer added four million worldwide subscribers from January through March, its smallest gain during that three-month period in four years
Netflix’s pandemic-fueled subscriber growth is slowing far faster than anticipated as people who have been cooped at home are able to get out and do other things again.
Netflix Inc. credited the pandemic with delivering record growth in 2020. Now it’s blaming the pandemic for the worst first quarter in eight years. The streaming service added far fewer new customers than Wall Street expected in the first three months of 2021, even missing its own forecast by millions of subscribers. And the current quarter will be more challenging, Netflix said Tuesday, predicting a gain of just 1 million new customers or a fraction of the 4.44 million projected by analysts.
Netflix has been warning for months that growth would slow after customers emerged from their Covid-19 hibernation, but few expected the company to stall so dramatically. The first quarter of 2020 was the strongest in its history, reeling in 15.8 million new customers, and Netflix’s pace was still brisk in the fourth quarter.
If content is king, Netflix’s crown is slipping
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21 April 2021 • 2:15pm
Tech stocks have been on a roller coaster ride in recent months but even by Silicon Valley’s recent topsy-turvy standards, the $20bn (£14.4bn) that traders wiped off the value of Netflix in after-hours trading on Tuesday is pretty wild.
The company should probably be used to this by now. Expectations are so high when it comes to the world’s number one streaming service that even the tiniest stumble can cause panic on Wall Street.
Netflix saw a 24 per cent rise in revenue but paid membership growth slowed
They blamed the slow growth in new members on Covid-19 slowing production
New shows and movies were delayed due to lockdown measures halting filming
The streaming giant has committed to spending $17 billion on content this year
The firm expects membership rates to speed up later in the year when a raft of new shows and sequels currently filming return to the streaming platform